Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Twilight62]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Mine would be I Walk the Line (1970).

Mine as well. Plus The Gunfighter.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Twilight62

Mine as well. Plus The Gunfighter.

That’s the top of the list for me, too, although I wouldn’t call it a guilty pleasure. It’s a truly great western.

[Rzzzz]

Originally Posted by belcherman

That’s the top of the list for me, too, although I wouldn’t call it a guilty pleasure. It’s a truly great western.

That's the film John Wayne very much wanted to star in and Columbia bought the rights when they found out he was interested in it. When the Duke found out Columbia bought the rights, he refused the role out of his hatred for Harry Cohn. Columbia sold it to 20th Century Fox and they gave the role to Gregory Peck (and they blamed the low box office on Peck's mustache, ha ha)....

From IMDB:

In the mid-'30s Cohn hired a relatively unknown cowboy actor, John Wayne, for a several-picture contract at Columbia with its "B" western unit. Cohn, a married man, soon got the idea that Wayne had made a pass at a Columbia starlet with whom Cohn was having an affair. When he confronted Wayne about it Wayne denied it, but Cohn called up executives at other studios and told them that Wayne would show up for work drunk, was a womanizer and a troublemaker and requested that they not hire him. Wayne didn't work for several months afterward, and when he discovered what Cohn had done, he burst into Cohn's office at Columbia, grabbed him by the neck and threatened to kill him. After he cooled off he told Cohn that "You son of a *****, as long as I live I will never work one day for you or Columbia no matter how much you offer me." Later, after Wayne had become a major star, he received several lucrative film offers from Columbia, including the lead in The Gunfighter (1950) (which was later made by 20th Century-Fox with Gregory Peck in the role), all of which he turned down cold. Even after Cohn died in 1958, Wayne still refused all offers from Columbia Pictures, including several that would have paid him more than a million dollars.

[OldGoat]

Originally Posted by Michael24

I've never pre-ordered from Twilight Time before (Baby the Rain Must Fall is my first time), so do they start shipping new releases early or not until the actual street date? Just curious.

My pre-order of Bandolero and Warlock shipped on Friday the 17th.

[amputd]

What’s the scoop on Ten North Frederick? I haven’t been able to find much on the film. Is it worth buying?

[Michael24]

Got my copy of Baby the Rain Must Fall today, a day earlier than expected.

[The Great Owl]

Not the first, and certainly not the last too-long-neglected Twilight Time title that I will pull out of my unwatched stack on a random whim...



Cross, an aging CIA assassin played by Burt Lancaster, has been training Jean, a freelance French operative played by Alain Delon, to follow in his footsteps after he finds a way to retire from the profession so that he can spend the rest of his days with his wife. When this older man is accused of treason by his agency superiors, Jean, who goes by the alias, “Scorpio”, is ordered to kill him. During the ensuing cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, Scorpio follows close on the trail as Cross touches base with an old contact, a Russian spy played by Paul Scofield, for a temporary hiding place, but finds that allegiances are difficult to sever when he finally faces his former mentor.

The 1973 espionage thriller, Scorpio, is a taut and competent directorial effort by Michael Winner, who is best known for helming classics like Death Wish and The Mechanic, but the nuanced dialogue moments during its journey are considerably more rewarding than its ultimate destination. Lancaster, who was approaching the end of his heyday, owns the screen through and through, especially during a handful of introspective alcohol-soaked conversations with Scofield's character. For this movie's signature action sequence, an extended foot chase through Vienna, he performs his own stunts, including one harrowing run across traffic on a busy road. Delon, who excelled as a suavely handsome hitman in the 1967 Jean-Pierre Melville masterpiece, Le Samouraï, once again makes his coldly calculating gaze into one of the main attractions of a screen story.

Gayle Hunnicutt, who captured my heart in films like The Legend of Hell House, Eye of the Cat, and Shadows in an Empty Room, is memorable as the girlfriend of Delon's young agent-for-hire. John Colicos (The Changeling) has an appropriate mystique as Cross's superior, while J.D. Cannon (Cool Hand Luke) excels as a next-in-command. Be on the lookout for Joanne Linville (Star Trek) as Cross's wife.

My overall take on Scorpio is favorable because of its enriching subtle moments and its ability to snap into white-knuckle tension at the drop of a hat. Its potentially bulletproof narrative fizzles a little too soon during the conclusion, which I would love to have seen stretched into a more deserving finale, but, even when death slips between two friends in an anticlimactic way, Winner does not lose his stride with the multilayered interactions and unexpected poignancy.

The music score by Jerry Fielding (The Wild Bunch, The Outlaw Josey Wales) guides us through the intricacy by spotlighting cathartic moments.

This film features one of the most outlandish goofs that I have encountered in cinema. During an early chase, Lancaster's antihero stops two CIA pursuers by backing his car into theirs two times. After the first impact, which clearly damages both vehicles, his car is shown totally unscathed as it backs into its target for the second time. Fortunately, my enjoyment of watching several of my favorite actors doing what they do best compels me to forgive the oversight.

The Twilight Time Blu-ray provides an excellently detailed and filmic video presentation. Nick Redman, Julie Kirgo, and Lem Dobbs do not share my fondness for Michael Winner's works, and, during their audio commentary, they spare no quips about this feature while also illuminating its positive points. Kirgo's great essay follows suit.

[DubbaBubba]

Owl, I just got to say, I love your reviews. I've been lurking and always love when you post one. I've never watched Scorpio but I just put it on my list to check out.

[dkelly26666]

Ugh... darn mailman lost my copy of "Morituri". Misdelivered it is more like it.

Tracking shows it was delivered last Wednesday, but I never received it. My neighbors near me didn't receive it, either.

And, I've ordered many, many times from TT and have never had an issue. But just in case I contacted them, anyway, and as expected they refuse to help me out at all. I mean I've ordered dozens of titles from them, and never once asked for any help with any problem, but they flat refuse to replace this one title this once. To be expected, I suppose.


And, OF COURSE the USPS are no help whatsoever, either.


Guess I have to just eat it this time. I did tell TT that IF, by some slight chance of a miracle, the person who DID receive my order happens to return it to them, that I'd like a refund for it. Guess I'd have to count on their honesty for that to ever happen. Chances are, I'll simply never hear anything about it ever again.

Tough break.

[oildude]

Per Twilight Time, the following titles are all below 500 units remaining (first post of this thread also updated):

AMERICAN BUFFALO (1996)
BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA – ENCORE EDITION (1974)
DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995)
FAT CITY (1972)
FLAMING STAR (1960)
THE FRONT (1976)
HARDCORE (1979)
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959)
HOW TO STEAL A MILLION (1966)
KISS OF DEATH (1947)
MISS SADIE THOMPSON (3D/2D) (1953)
PEYTON PLACE (1957)
PLACES IN THE HEART (1984)
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993)
REMO WILLIAMS – THE ADVENTURE BEGINS (1985)
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995)
STATE OF GRACE (1990)
STORMY WEATHER (1943)
THEATRE OF BLOOD (1973)
TO SIR, WITH LOVE (1967)
THE TRAIN – ENCORE EDITION (1964)
THE VANISHING (1993)

[thatguamguy]

Any buzz on an upcoming sale? They seem overdue. That list reminded me that I'd pick up "Remo Williams" at the right price.

[Jobla]

Owl, SCORPIO also features a brief performance by Mary Maude, who was so good in THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED. IIRC, Maude plays a pretty airline stewardess.

[StarDestroyer52]

Of those I don't have of those films, the only one I want that I don't have is Stormy Weather though I can't pay $29.95. I know it was a title I should've picked up during the sale, hopefully its discounted heavily during an upcoming sale as I think this is a title that will still take a long time to sell out.

[oildude]

Pre-orders begin June 5, 2019, at 4 pm EST

Curtain up on the hi-def Blu-ray arrival of this Technicolor® song-and-dance delight derived from a 2K restoration transfer. “Betty Grable often said that her personal favorite of all her films was [this] nostalgic musical based on the true story of a married vaudeville team of the early 1900s, Frank and Myrtle Burt. Made at the peak of Grable's popularity and the happiest period of her private life, it was her most popular film, and the one that best showcases her talent and her sunny personality” (Margarita Landazuri, TCM.com). Dan Dailey also stars in this show-biz valentine, a triple Academy Award® nominee adapted by Lamar Trotti (Wilson, The Razor’s Edge, With a Song in My Heart).

Special Features: Mother Wore Tights Radio Program

Good article on the film from Turner Classic Movies: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/84028.../articles.html


Directed by the great Walter Lang, whose career began in the silent era and brought us many memorable films, among them some of the classic Shirley Temple movies. His filmography includes The King and I, Can-Can, The Blue Bird, The Little Princess, On the Riviera, Moon Over Miami, Desk Set, Cheaper by the Dozen, and There's No Business Like Show Business.

Starring:

Betty Grable (I Wake Up Screaming, How to Marry a Millionaire, Pin Up Girl, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Coney Island, A Yank in the R.A.F.)

Don Dailey (The Wings of Eagles, There's No Business Like Show Business, The Kid from Left Field, Ziegfeld Girl, You're My Everything)

Mona Freeman (The Heiress, Black Beauty, Streets of Laredo, Branded)


Cinematography by Harry Jackson (Pony Soldier, Halls of Montezuma, Anne of the Indies, The Band Wagon, The Kid from Left Field)


Turner Classic Movies Introduction

TCM Summer Under The Stars 2014 Betty Grable 4of8 Mother Wore Tights (Intro) - YouTube

[oildude]

Pre-orders begin June 5, 2019, at 4 pm EST

New on hi-def Blu-ray in a spiffed-up 2K restoration: Rally ’round this brisk and bubbly celebration of the World War II-era home front and the hugely popular charms of marvelous “pin-up girl” phenomenon Betty Grable, who’s joined by Martha Raye and Joe E. Brown in merrily jumping and jiving through the outlandish comedy complications generated by a spirited USO hostess when she falls for a handsome war hero. It’s packed with eye-popping and ear-pleasing musical, dancing and roller-skating marvels in abundance that’ll make you stand up and cheer.

Special Features: Audio Commentary with Film Historian Richard Schickel / Deleted Musical Number This Is It / Original Theatrical Trailer

From Turner Classic Movies....It is one of the iconic images of the World War II era: Betty Grable wearing a bathing suit, satin heels and an ankle bracelet, with her blonde hair in a curly pompadour, shot from behind and coyly smiling over her shoulder at the camera. Her home studio 20th Century Fox gave away millions of copies of that photo, and it is estimated that one of every five servicemen fighting overseas carried one, a symbol of all the girls they left behind. It was the ultimate "pin-up," so named because the fighting men pinned them over their bunks or on the cockpits of their planes.

Excellent article from Turner Classic Movies: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/86706.../articles.html


Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone (I Wake Up Screaming, Wonder Man, Sun Valley Serenade, Time out for Murder, Hello Frisco Hello, and multiple movies in the Charlie Chan and the Tarzan series)

Starring:

Betty Grable (I Wake Up Screaming, How to Marry a Millionaire, Mother Wore Tights, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Coney Island, A Yank in the R.A.F.)

John Harvey (The Spider, Four Jills in a Jeep, Edge of Fury)

Martha Raye (Monsieur Verdoux, Billy Rose's Jumbo, The Farmer's Daughter, Double or Nothing, Pufnstuf)

Cinematography by Ernest Palmer, who lensed 140 films, including Broken Arrow, Blood and Sand, Belle Starr, My Gal Sal, Coney Island, and Centennial Summer.


Clip from the film - performance of "Once Too Often"

Betty Grable - Once Too Often - YouTube

Trailer (NOTE: This is the only trailer I could find online and the quality is VERY poor.)

« Pin-Up Girl » trailer (1942) - YouTube

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Not the first, and certainly not the last too-long-neglected Twilight Time title that I will pull out of my unwatched stack on a random whim...



Cross, an aging CIA assassin played by Burt Lancaster, has been training Jean, a freelance French operative played by Alain Delon, to follow in his footsteps after he finds a way to retire from the profession so that he can spend the rest of his days with his wife. When this older man is accused of treason by his agency superiors, Jean, who goes by the alias, “Scorpio”, is ordered to kill him. During the ensuing cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, Scorpio follows close on the trail as Cross touches base with an old contact, a Russian spy played by Paul Scofield, for a temporary hiding place, but finds that allegiances are difficult to sever when he finally faces his former mentor.

The 1973 espionage thriller, Scorpio, is a taut and competent directorial effort by Michael Winner, who is best known for helming classics like Death Wish and The Mechanic, but the nuanced dialogue moments during its journey are considerably more rewarding than its ultimate destination. Lancaster, who was approaching the end of his heyday, owns the screen through and through, especially during a handful of introspective alcohol-soaked conversations with Scofield's character. For this movie's signature action sequence, an extended foot chase through Vienna, he performs his own stunts, including one harrowing run across traffic on a busy road. Delon, who excelled as a suavely handsome hitman in the 1967 Jean-Pierre Melville masterpiece, Le Samouraï, once again makes his coldly calculating gaze into one of the main attractions of a screen story.

Gayle Hunnicutt, who captured my heart in films like The Legend of Hell House, Eye of the Cat, and Shadows in an Empty Room, is memorable as the girlfriend of Delon's young agent-for-hire. John Colicos (The Changeling) has an appropriate mystique as Cross's superior, while J.D. Cannon (Cool Hand Luke) excels as a next-in-command. Be on the lookout for Joanne Linville (Star Trek) as Cross's wife.

My overall take on Scorpio is favorable because of its enriching subtle moments and its ability to snap into white-knuckle tension at the drop of a hat. Its potentially bulletproof narrative fizzles a little too soon during the conclusion, which I would love to have seen stretched into a more deserving finale, but, even when death slips between two friends in an anticlimactic way, Winner does not lose his stride with the multilayered interactions and unexpected poignancy.

The music score by Jerry Fielding (The Wild Bunch, The Outlaw Josey Wales) guides us through the intricacy by spotlighting cathartic moments.

This film features one of the most outlandish goofs that I have encountered in cinema. During an early chase, Lancaster's antihero stops two CIA pursuers by backing his car into theirs two times. After the first impact, which clearly damages both vehicles, his car is shown totally unscathed as it backs into its target for the second time. Fortunately, my enjoyment of watching several of my favorite actors doing what they do best compels me to forgive the oversight.

The Twilight Time Blu-ray provides an excellently detailed and filmic video presentation. Nick Redman, Julie Kirgo, and Lem Dobbs do not share my fondness for Michael Winner's works, and, during their audio commentary, they spare no quips about this feature while also illuminating its positive points. Kirgo's great essay follows suit.

Right on the money, Great Owl.

I'm quite a fan of SCORPIO, too. A welcome addition to Twilight Time's blu-rays
from this director. SCORPIO and LAWMAN are the Michael Winner films I enjoy the
most because of the excellent genre writing, no-nonsense direction and photography
by Winner's regular dp Robert Paynter. Both films are built on seriously good scripts.

Check out the paperback novelization SCORPIO by Mike Roote. It fleshes out the
story and turns it into an experience of thoughts and feelings while maintaining the
suspenseful pace. It's a lean mean spy novel one of my favorite spy novels of the
1970s. It's so well writ it was reprinted under different covers without the tie-in ID
for years. Used copies are easy to find cheap on ebay and amazon marketplace.
My copy bought in 1973 sits on the shelf next to the blu-ray.

[oildude]

Pre-orders begin June 5, 2019, at 4 pm EST

Say hello to a bountiful musical bouquet in lush Technicolor® bloom for its hi-def Blu-ray debut, thanks to a lovely 2K restoration transfer: the trio of Alice Faye, John Payne and Jack Oakie reteam for their third, most memorable Fox outing – a reworking of the 1936 Faye/Oakie King of Burlesque – about the roller-coaster show-business mix of social-climbing ambition and backstage romance. Splendidly performed standards abound – and an Oscar®-winning Best Song leads the pack.

Special Features: Isolated Music Track / Hello Again: The Remaking of Alice Faye / Two Hello, Frisco, Hello Radio Programs / Original Theatrical Trailer

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone (I Wake Up Screaming, Wonder Man, Sun Valley Serenade, Time out for Murder, Hello Frisco Hello, and multiple movies in the Charlie Chan and the Tarzan series)

Starring:

Alice Faye (Fallen Angel, Rose of Washington Square, Alexander's Ragtime Band, The Gang's All Here, Four Jills in a Jeep)

John Payne (Miracle on 34th Street, Kansas City Confidential, Hidden Fear, 99 River Street, Tin Pan Alley, Weekend in Havana)

Jack Oakie (Call of the Wild, Lover Come Back, The Great Dictator, Thieves' Highway)

And for fans of great character actors and John Ford, this film also features Ward Bond.


Music by David Buttolph (House of Wax, Calamity Jane, Phantom of the Rue Morgue, Boomerang!, Guadalcanal Diary, Blood and Sand, Man Hunt, The Mark of Zorro, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James)


Original Trailer (the trailer is in B&W, but the film is in "breathtaking Technicolor", as mentioned in the trailer lol)

Hello, Frisco, Hello - YouTube

[oildude]

Pre-orders begin June 5, 2019, at 4 pm EST

NOTE: This is a limited edition of 2000 copies

Future Oscar®, Emmy® and Tony® winner Helen Mirren delivers a powerful lead performance, both tough-as-nails and achingly tender, as a world-weary London “hostess club” hooker who finds unexpected romance as she tries to break free of her tawdry past, in an underseen British gem now showcased on hi-def Blu-ray! In his movie debut, John Shea (Missing, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) co-stars as the rejuvenating lover who may be the lady’s ticket out of her hard life – if his own personal and criminal baggage doesn’t bring about their mutual downfall.

Special Features: Original Theatrical Trailer

Directed by Matthew Chapman (Heart of Midnight)

Starring:

Helen Mirren (Excalibur, The Mosquito Coast, The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover, The Madness of King George, Gosford Park)

John Shea (Missing, and many TV series and movies)


Music by George Fenton (Memphis Belle, The Fisher King, China Moon, The Crucible, Groundhog Day, You've Got Mail)


Trailer

Hussy 1980 Trailer - YouTube

[Aclea]

Latest batch arrived today: only had a chance to quickly check the discs, but the transfer on Bandolero! looks superb with, from an admittedly hasty examination, none of that pesky revisionist color grading Fox are prone to.

[bdgking]

I was looking at amazon to buy a couple out of print twilight time titles and I noticed screenarchives still selling some of the out of print titles as if they have hundreds of units each still . Titles such as Love and death , The prime of miss jean brodie , mindwarp , Disappearance , Inherit the wind , Audrey rose & solomon & sheba either they have many still available if anyone is interested or they are taking a big risk of people buying for them to not be able to ship them and risking their reputation I guess . I did not buy any of those as I have all of. However I thought I would let you all know in case any of you missed out before .

I noticed at SAE they are just 9 more x Hardcore remaining and at Twilight time I guess they are still running their $24.95 sale .

I myself am hoping for another sale soon . I am only buying between the $6.99 - $15 rates myself and if they do not offer those sales I guess I will just miss out mostly and will pick up a more expensive title but rarer .

Just thought I would let all know about the out of print info above incase and if SAE has a mistake at amazon maybe someone here will let SAE know .Happy weekend all .